Fox-news

Somewhere in the past 20 years or so, Americans started repeating a false narrative. The myth was about there always being "two sides to every story" and that -- because of that belief -- the media was responsible for always showing both sides. But that's simply not the case. By making mindless arguing over every single issue the norm, cable news has convinced a misinformed public that the facts are whatever is said by the person who screams the loudest.

The media on both sides of the political aisle may well be painting a picture of what they want to see happen, not what is an accurate prediction of what could happen. And because we all willingly are consuming and sharing media as we always have been, we are confident in our own views of the likely outcome.

How many debates have we endured? There have been so many I've lost count. Correct me if I'm wrong but I think there were 12 GOP debates during the primaries, five for the Democrats, plus one town hall, one vice-presidential debate and three presidential debates. Geeze Louise, talk about overkill.

For years, marketers have told boys and girls which toys "should" interest them, instead of encouraging them to choose freely. This makes no sense. Why should we limit kids that way? An incredible new campaign called #NoGenderDecember seeks to fix that problem.

My appetite for big issues and my desire to be a part of the larger debates all pointed me in the direction of the American political spectrum. Because really, who cares what happens in my local city politics? Even my Canadian national elections didn't have any substantial consequences. Things up here would be OK, no matter which way they went. But what happened in the U.S.? Now that was big, that mattered. But like any buzz, it wears off. Quicker and quicker the more artificial the substance.

Thanks to Caroline Berg Eriksen's post-pregnancy selfie that she took just four days after giving birth to her daughter we have been pulled back into the "what should women's bodies look like?" debate. Let's stop paying so much attention to the bodies that we can't relate to and start embracing, celebrating and taking care of the ones we do.

My problem isn't with Maria as a person. I don't believe that she was intentionally trying to hurt anyone, and there's a very good chance that she had no idea how this image would add major fuel to the already blazing fire of contempt in a society that glorifies the skinniest bodies and demonizes pretty much everything else.

Like millions of other people, I watched the Fox News interview with Reza, and I found him to be a very likeable guy, writing sincerely his "take" on Jesus.
But if you get a chance this summer, why not balance Reza's "liberal" take on the life of Christ with C.S. Lewis's conservative "take." And to help with this here is my book review of Lewis' famous book, "Mere Christianity."

Last Friday Dr. Reza Aslan was interviewed by Fox News on his recent book, Zealot: The Life and Times of Jesus of Nazareth. Bigotry reigned as Green repeatedly asked Aslan why as a "Muz-lim" he would write a book about Jesus. Meanwhile, halfway around the world, another secular Muslim sat in a Saudi prison, awaiting his sentence. His crime? Attempting to liberalize religion in Saudi Arabia and criticizing religious police.

There are very few things in life that simultaneously fill you with both cynicism and exhilaration like the American presidential election. And 2012 is certainly no exception. As the election cycle draws to a close, here's a look back at some of the most valuable insights from the year.

Recently, I was invited to a happening, an evening "of celebration, comedy, music, and discussion with expert panellists" organized by an obviously worthy volunteer group called Reimagine CBC. Seems Reimagine CBC and another volunteer group have just finished a survey of some 11,000 Canadians aimed at finding out what we, the citizens, want of our CBC.